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i assume you're referring to white spaces as in screen space which is white instead of whitespaces(as in spaces, newlines, tabs)

i think that it'd really depend on the look the designer wants to achieve... white gives a really clean look that most colours can't... i've nothing against too much white if the overall effect is good...

I think the keys are balancing the size of the elements, and choosing perfect colors. If the eye can follow the page comfortably, and easily absorb information while scanning from section to section, then the white space won't capture the eye.

It's what really makes a world-class designer, and I think it takes years to cultivate. No offense to any web-only designers, but people with strong print backgrounds seem to have a better grasp of it in my experience. I wish I could do it better, but I know I can't as well as some of the designers I code for.

The second one uses uniform whitespace. All of the distances between wording and pictures is the same giving it a good feel. The only time white space looks horrible is when it is out of place. Such as a situation where the whole content section is .5 inch down from the heard and everything else is tight together.

The third site. I don't really like the look of. Column one has too much whitespace in it, compared to the other columns.

Now, I think outer white space it find. Lots of sites pull it off well without jamming the page full of info. It is internal whitespace that usually bugs my eye.